


The Common Life

by mecaka



Category: Tangled (2010)
Genre: AU, F/M, Family, Humor, I Don't Even Know, What-If, and to the archive, how long can I drag this out for, im new to this, just warning you, my first ever fanfic, she doesn't know she's the lost princess, sort of, there's some sad stuff in here, this is kinda plotless, wedding scene, yes she will have kids eventually, yet - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-24
Updated: 2014-09-29
Packaged: 2018-02-10 06:32:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2014668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mecaka/pseuds/mecaka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Originally posted to my FFNET account)<br/>What if Rapunzel hadn't realized she was the lost princess? How would Rapunzel and Eugene's lives have changed? A story exploring their marriage, family, and *eventual* discovery of Rapunzel's true identity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my idea of what would have happened if Rapunzel hadn't realized she was the lost princess ('cuz that was really unlikely), and how she and Eugene would have (eventually) found this out.

Eugene jumped from Max's back, and hit the ground running. When he reached the base of Rapunzel's tower, he stared up at the shut window. "Rapunzel? Rapunzel, let down your hair!" he called up to her, hoping she would hear him, hoping she would listen. He briefly waited, then started climbing up on his own. He realized how impossible this would be without the arrows he had used the last time he had climbed the side of this very tower.

Suddenly, the window was thrown open, and her hair came pouring out. A smile lit his face. _She's safe,_ he thought. He had no idea what she might be thinking, but it was probably along the lines of 'Why did you abandon me, Eugene?' He hoped that he could make her understand.

_Earlier..._

Rapunzel laid back on her bed. Her mother had just finished undoing the elaborate, beautiful braid she had gotten in town, and was probably about to burn the flowers that had been tucked throughout her hair. Pascal turned the same shade of blue as the bedspread, and comfortingly laid against her arm. She glanced at him, her expression somber. Mother had told her to forget what had happened, claiming it would be easier than clinging to the happier of the depressing memories. She sighed deeply. _I can't believe Eugene did this to me_ , she thought sadly.

She refused to forget. She unclenched her fist, where she had been concealing the little flag Eugene had bought her. He had seemed so happy with her. Had she done something wrong? Or was he just really good at hiding his true feelings?

"Rapunzel! The hazelnut soup is ready, dear!" her mother called up from below.

"Coming, Mother," Rapunzel called back. She stuffed the little flag into one her pillows, wanting to make sure her mother didn't find it and get rid of it. As she walked down the stairs, she tried to cheer herself up, but the only happy things she could think of were memories of Eugene. _He's probably gone, on a deserted island, just like he wanted_ , she thought bitterly.

She sat at the table, across from her mother, who was ladling out soup into their bowls. "It's so nice having you back home, Rapunzel. Now, eat up!" her mother sounded so happy.

"I miss Eugene," Rapunzel suddenly said, absently.

"Rapunzel, you need to forget about that thief! He's probably dead by now, anyways. You'll never see him again!"

"Dead? Why would he be dead?" Rapunzel was stunned. Why would her mother say such a thing?

"Oh, well... I, um... I saw those two thugs tie him to the boat, with the crown in plain view. They set it up so he'd be arrested! His crimes were to be punished with death, so... he's probably dead by now..." her mother seemed a little flustered.

"But, Mother... you said that... that you saw him trade me for the crown... That he abandoned me!"

"Oh, did I?"

Rapunzel was thinking. How would those two goons, who were able to be surprised by an old women, come up with that devious of a plan? She realized then, that someone else was behind this. "It was you," she murmured, stumbling upon the truth. She stood up, understanding etching its way across her features. Her spoon dropped from her hand, and her gaze turned to her mother.

"Rapunzel, you know how I feel about the—"

"It was all YOU!" Rapunzel said loudly. "YOU set up Eugene to get arrested, then knocked out your henchmen to get away with it."

Her mother was clearly stunned. "Rapunzel, now why would I do such a thing? Do you really believe that—"

"You've kept me locked up here, afraid of the world, just so that... so that you could stay young! I have to go find Eugene... I have to save him..." Rapunzel was making her way towards the window.

"You want me to be the bad guy? Fine, now I'm the bad guy..." said Gothel, menacingly. She saw the frying pan Rapunzel had had with her on her 'journey'. Gothel picked it up, and stalked towards the window.

_Now..._

Eugene reached the top of the tower, and pulled himself into the window. "Rapunzel, I never thought I'd—" he stopped short, stunned to see Rapunzel chained and gagged. She was trying to say something.

Suddenly, a sharp pain bloomed in his side. A woman pulled the dagger back out of him and stepped over him when he fell. She was saying something, but he couldn't really understand. He was staring at Rapunzel, clutching his side. His side felt warm and sticky. Rapunzel looked really upset. The woman was trying to force her down a set of stairs, Rapunzel fighting her all the way, trying to get to him. When she knocked the gag off, he forced himself to focus on what she was saying: "... but if you let me heal him, I will go with you..."

"No, Rapunzel," he forced out. He couldn't let her do this! Her spirit, her freedom, her personality would die!

The woman removed Rapunzels' chains, and put them on him instead. She said something in his ear he couldn't quite comprehend. Rapunzel was there suddenlly, and she started talking, but he kept calling to her, wanting to tell her something. His right hand brushed something sharp, and he gripped it. He knew how to save her. "Rapunzel. I can't let you do this!"

"And I can't let you die."

"But, if... you do this, then...you will... die..."

"Shh, shh. It's gonna be alright."

She opened her mouth, about to begin the healing song. "Rapunzel, wait." She leaned towards him, and he lifted his hand to the back of her head. He gripped her hair, making sure to get all of it, and then he sliced through it, just below her shoulders. She gasped. She turned around, as the old woman started shouting. He didn't pay attention, instead watching Rapunzel's now brown head. She turned back to him, and put his hand to her head, trying to heal him. He kept saying her name, needing to tell her something, now that he was so close to death. "Rapunzel."

"What?" tears brimming in her eyes.

"You were my new dream," he whispered, smiling as much as he could.

"And you were mine!"

He closed his eyes, and almost panicked when he couldn't get them open again. Then, everything slipped away.

His eyes opened, and he saw Rapunzel leaning over him, confusion written all over his face. He smiled up at her.

"Did I ever tell you I've got a thing for brunettes?"

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'd just like to point out again that the first nine chapters were written between 9 and 14 months ago. I'll try to remember to post new chapters here. I kind of forgot about it over the last little while.

Chapter 2

“Eugene, I can’t believe you’re alive!” Rapunzel had been smiling non-stop since they had left the tower.“I just can’t believe it!”

“Trust me, Blondie, I can’t believe it either,” Eugene replied.“I guess I need to come up with a new nickname for you, now that your hair’s brown.”

“No!I like it when you call me Blondie!”

“Rapunzel, your hair isn’t blonde anymore…”

“So?It’ll be our private joke, sort of.”

“Alright… Blondie,” he said with a smile.

“Eugene, I just realized something.Mother told me that you had been arrested, and that you were to be hanged.How’d you get escape the castle?”

“Maximus saw me get arrested, I think.Then he went and found those guys we met at the Snuggly Duckling.Somehow, they got inside and busted me out.They came just in time, too.I was being escorted to the noose when they showed up.”

“We need to go thank them!” she exclaimed, clearly excited about getting to see her favorite pub thugs again.Eugene, on the other hand, didn’t seem that thrilled.

“Rapunzel, we don’t have any clue if they made it out or not.They might have gotten arrested for freeing me.”

“The least we can do is go and see if they’re there.” she was adamant.They were GOING to the Snuggly Duckling.He could see Pascal glaring at him from her shoulder.

“Alright,” replied Eugene, caving to the love of his life, and her terrifying frog.

* * *

Thankfully, all the pub thugs had made it out of the castle.  In fact, few had even been injured.  They were all very happy to see Rapunzel again, though they were curious as to why her hair was short and brown now.  She tactfully evaded their questions, still shy about the subject of her magic hair.  As the thugs told of their exploits at the castle (a lot of it in song), and of how Max had had to play charades to get their help, they began to notice how Rapunzel and Eugene (as they had been told his name was) were treating each other.  They were acting like a lot more than friends, often losing themselves in the other’s eyes.

“Rapunzel, how was your dream?” asked the thug with the big nose.“Did you enjoy the lanterns?”

“They were amazing!They were floating all around us, and Eugene even brought a couple for us to send off.It was so sweet of him.”She proceeded to describe how the lanterns had reflected off the water, and how she had “rescued” one that was falling.“I even got to find out what my new dream is,” she finished, turning toward Eugene again, a smile gracing her face.No one bothered asking what the new dream was; it was extremely obvious that she and the thief-turned-hero were in love.

* * *

As the afternoon turned to evening, and the evening to night, the various “pub thugs” began heading home.  Rapunzel and Eugene eventually left, as well.  As they walked away, Rapunzel noticed that Eugene was taking a route that would lead them to the tower.

“Where are we going,” she asked, though she already knew.

“Well,” Eugene started, guessing that she knew perfectly well where, “since we don’t really have a place to stay at the moment, I thought it would be best if we just stayed in the tower.All that really needs done is getting rid of the hair, the broken mirror, and the chains.”

“Okay,” Rapunzel knew that this made sense.Where else could they go?“But I want to get out of the tower as soon as possible.”

“Ra—Blondie, I completely understand.But, I’m wanted by the kingdom, so we can’t just move anywhere.We might need to stay in the tower until the kingdom forgets about me a little bit.Hopefully, they’ll calm down soon, but I can’t guarantee anything.”

She hadn’t even considered that.The kingdom was after Flynn (Eugene), because of everything he’d done.And now, he’d escaped prison and a death sentence.She wondered if things would ever calm down.“Could we start spreading rumors that Flynn Rider died?It wouldn’t be lying, because you did.”

“That might help some,” Eugene said.He began considering that.If he didn’t steal anything ever again, and Rapunzel and the pub thugs started spreading rumors that he had died somehow, that might speed up the process.

They continued on their way in silence, both thinking hard about ways they could help the kingdom forget about Flynn Rider.Eventually, they came to the tower.They went up the hidden staircase that Gothel had tried to force Rapunzel down, just a few hours previously.Rapunzel gathered up all the hair, and carefully braided it, making sure to get every strand.She didn’t really want to get rid of something that had been a part of her for her whole life.When she finished the braid, she stuffed the hair into the green closet she had hidden Flynn in two mornings ago.She smiled, remembering how excited she had been to show the unconscious man to her mother, thinking it was decisive proof that she could handle herself out in the world.

Meanwhile, Flynn swept up all the broken shards of glass.He placed them in a small basket, thinking Rapunzel could use them in her artwork later.Then he moved the mirror’s frame into Gothel’s bedroom.Neither of them were willing to use the old crone’s bed.Finally, he gathered up the chains and moved them to Gothel’s room as well.He realized then how exhausted he was.He went back out into the main room.“Hey, Blondie?”

“Yes, Eugene?”Rapunzel turned to him.She was grinning from ear to ear.Pascal was smiling to, still perched on her shoulder.

“What are the sleeping arrangements going to be?I mean, I’m not comfortable sleeping on your mother’s bed, considering she killed me and all…” he trailed off, waiting for her response.

“We could share my—”

“No!That… we’re not sharing your bed, Rapunzel.”

She seemed to understand, suddenly, what that implied.Her cheeks turned crimson-red.“Oh.Well, you could sleep down here on the floor, I guess.We could start a fire, though it isn’t that cold out, and you could use a couple of the extra quilts I’ve got.”

“That’d be great, Rapunzel.”

“You don’t mind sleeping n the floor?”

“Nah, I’m used to it.Life as a thief…”

* * *

The next morning, Rapunzel woke him up at the crack of dawn.  He realized that she must be a morning person; she was completely awake, dressed, her hair had been brushed, and he could smell breakfast cooking.

“Good morning, Eugene!”

“Morning, Blondie… What time is it?”

“7.I overslept today; I guess we stayed up kind of late last night.”

“Wait.You get up _before_ seven… _everyday_?”he was shocked.He never got up this early, unless he had to for some scheme he was pulling.

“Yeah,” Rapunzel said, looking confused.Didn’t everyone get up early?Carpe diem?“Doesn’t everyone get up early?”

“Not really, Blondie… maybe if their job requires it, but a lot of people sleep past 7am on a regular basis.”

“Oh,” she said, sounding very surprised.

“Speaking of jobs, by the way, how are we supposed to get food and other necessities?It’s not like I’m going to be able to go to town, but we’ll need to get food.”He had gone to the table, and was sitting down as he spoke.She brought two plates from the kitchen.He could smell the eggs and bacon.

“Well, I think mother might have had a garden nearby.I don’t think she had a job, and she must have gotten all the vegetables and things we ate from somewhere…” she trailed off, thinking.“If we needed money, we could always sell her furniture.We don’t want it, do we?”

“No.The only problem is how we’re going to get them out of the tower and into town,” he answered, taking a bite of eggs.They were delicious.

“We’ll think of something.In the meantime, we need to look for the garden.It’s probably in this valley, though I’m not sure where.”

He looked at her from across the table.She looked so cute when she was thinking.She was lightly biting her bottom lip, her eyebrows were slightly scrunched together.She was staring at the table, completely oblivious to his gaze.Her hand was resting on the table, and he reached out to take it in his own.She looked up when he touched her, a soft smile on her face.“I am so happy that you knocked me out with that frying pan.”

She beamed at him, “Me, too.”

 


End file.
